Michigan Lawmaker Aims To Limit The Use Of Drones

BAT SHLOMO, ISRAEL - JANUARY 16: (ISRAEL OUT) A Skylark drone comes in to land during a drill on January 16, 2012 near Bat Shlomo, Israel. The Skylark can carry a camera payload of up to 1kg, has an operational calking of 15,000ft and allows users to monitor any designated point within a 15km radius. The Skylark unit consists of a ground control element and three drones, which provide battalion-level commanders with real-time information. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

A Skylark drone aircraft (Credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

LANSING (WWJ/AP) – A Republican Michigan lawmaker has proposed measures to restrict the use of pilotless aircraft by law enforcement to gather information.

The bill introduced Thursday by Republican Rep. Tom McMillin of Rochester Hills would require police to either have a warrant or show an imminent danger before using a drone.

“Since drone technology is developing so rapidly, we should prepare now for the legal and practical challenges that are quickly approaching us, while allowing the reasonable, very narrow, use of drones by law enforcement to aid in our citizens’ protection,” McMillin said in a statement.

Law enforcement would have to immediately destroy any information gathered by the drone not related to the target. Information gathered from the drone couldn’t be used as evidence in court.

McMillin said Michigan “citizens should not have to worry about Big Brother looking down on them from above.”